(September) 23 (, 2011)

A U.S. satellite which had been focused on the ozone layer will be crashing back to earth around September 23, 2011. From IB Times – New York… “As the huge satellite breaks into 26 pieces, most of UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite) will burn up after re-entering the atmosphere, leaving around 1,200 pounds to spread over a 500-mile-wide area, anywhere between 57 degrees north latitude and 57 degrees south latitude… NASA officials will have little clue as to where the satellite will hit until two hours before its reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, flying at 5 mph.

“UARS was discommissioned in 2005 as it ran out of fuel after its 14-year-long mission to study Earth’s atmosphere and its interactions with the sun. The $750 million mission measured the concentrations and distribution of gases important to ozone depletion, climate change and other atmospheric phenomena. NASA says readings from UARS provided conclusive evidence that chlorine in the atmosphere, originating from human-produced chlorofluorocarbons, is at the root of the polar ozone hole.

“According to Space.com, there are over 22,000 objects larger than 4 inches in the space currently tracked by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network. Among them, only about 1,000 represent operational spacecraft, and the rest are orbital debris… Around 500,000 particles between .4 inches and 4 inches in diameter is approximately 500,000, and more than tens of millions of particles smaller than .4 inches are currently floating around in Earth’s orbit.”